Promises To Be Kept
by Kittie-Nova
Summary: I..I'm sorry Sasuke. I can't do this. I've worked for years to be the best friend to you I can and I value that friendship more than life itself. I can't just go and throw it away over a stupid thing like this. Sasusaku slightly AUish as Sasuke never left
1. Promises

Promises To Be Kept

Chapter One

Author's Note This isn't an update...yet. There is one in the works, hopefully it will be done within the next day or so. I'm just fixing up some spelling errors and changing a few minor details to make the following chapters flow easier, keeping in mind I did originally intend for this to be a one shot. One more little comment and then I'll let you get on with the story. At this point in the story it is a Sakura/Sasuke fic. I can't promise you it will stay that pairing in the end. But no matter what I'd like to say thank you for all of the wonderful reviews and I hope the update will get the same praise when it goes up!

I hope you all enjoy the story. It's my first Naruto and I'm hoping it's up to snuff for everyone out there. Anyway please review and one last thing before the fic:

Disclaimer I own neither Naruto nor the lyrics to Promises.

Sakura opened her sea-green eyes to the sunlight peering through her window only to squint them shut tightly as her head began to ache. Remembering the night before which had started out as any other night of her twenty-one years and had suddenly turned into one of the worst. Rising slowly to prevent her head from aching anymore than necessary she leaned over and pulled on the first thing that came to her hand. Tugging the hem slightly of the pale green sun dress that matched her eyes almost exactly she walked into the bathroom, an pouring herself a glass of water she took a couple of asprin out of the medicine cabinet and swallowed them. Closing the cabinet she caught sight of her disheveled appearance in the mirror and winced. The night before had taken it's toll on her and she looked like she'd crawled out of a grave rather than her nice comfy bed. She shook her head at her appalling performance and instantly regretted it when the alcohol and tear induced headache fought against the sudden movement. Without warning tears sprang once more to her eyes as she recalled the harsh words that had passed between her and her former team mate.

Pausing as she ran a damp cloth down her throat only to give a slight gasp as she noticed the hickey the water had just emphasized. In spite of being alone in her bathroom Sakura flushed a slight pink as she also remembered the result of the angry words thrown out by hot tempers and encouraged by alcohol.

Flashback

She had always believed that they would end up together, then as the years passed and his attitude towards her didn't change she had slowly began to give up on him. Gradually she focused on developing a friendship with the sullen boy, rather than a relationship. It had worked, and she, Sasuke, and of course Naruto had become closer than siblings. Last night however, she had gone out for dinner with Shikamaru. It was a bit of a shock to Sakura when the lazy ninja had asked her out to dinner but she had happily accepted his offer. Once they had been seated in a cozy little booth near the back of the restaurant, both ninjas automatically glanced around the new Konoha lounge. In doing so both were surprised to see another couple there from their Academy days. Sasuke and Ino were sitting at a table very deep in conversation. Sakura tried to tell herself that she wasn't upset by the revelation that two of her good friends were dating, however she was unable to keep an anguished expression from momentarily taking over her face. Being as distracted by the surprise at the other table as she was, she failed to notice the hurt look that had crossed Shikamaru's normally emotionless visage as his eyes passed over Sakura's own saddened countenance.

The two regained their composure rapidly and set about making the best of the evening. Sakura made the bad decision to have a few glasses of sake with her meal and Shikamaru had decided he'd follow suit. Both continued drinking and talking and neither one noticed that both Ino and Sasuke had finally noticed the unusual couple sitting in a booth across the restaurant. Sasuke's eye brow arched slightly as he noticed Shikamaru stand up, only to slide into the seat beside Sakura slipping an arm around her sholders as he sat. His face darkened even more as he saw Shikamaru lean over to whisper in Sakura's ear which made her giggle and nod. Suddenly he realized that they were preparing to leave and, seeing Shikamaru help Sakura to her feet before slipping an arm around her waist.

At this gesture his eyes narrowed and Ino following his gaze let out a slight gasp before speaking, "When did that happen?" Turning to Sasuke she realized that he'd risen in his seat to follow the somewhat intoxicated couple to the door. Ino stood up hastily as well.

Rather than waiting for the bill Sasuke swiftly tallied up an estimate of their bill and left enough to cover it with a tip laying on the table. About to leave he paused and glanced at Ino with a mildly apologetic look. "Sorry to cut dinner short Ino but I have something to do." Ino met his eyes steadily without a trace of rancor in her sky blue eyes she simply nodded and began to walk with him towards the door.

In the meantime Sakura and Shikamaru and made it to the club just down the street and went in fully intending on simply having a few more drinks before heading home. However the alcohol had hit Sakura harder than she realized and Shikamaru wanted to distract her from the sight in the restaurant which he had known upset her. So once they were in the bar the pair decide that no more alcohol was necessary and as Sakura leaned up to kiss him he leaned down to meet her soft lips. They were so occupied with one another that neither noticed a furious Sasuke stalking towards them trailed by a pale Ino. Before he could stop himself, words he would immediately regret came pouring from Sasuke's mouth.

"Hey Shikamaru! I never thought you would lower yourself to my leftovers." At his name Shikamaru had raised his head breaking the kiss and at the rest of the sentence his face tightened into a grim mask. Sakura who was too shocked to say anything simply stared at Sasuke like he had gone insane. This didn't last for long however, since Sakura's temper soon ignited, and fueled by the alcohol she opened her mouth and returned fire before Shikamaru could take a step.

"You fucking hypocrite! Where the hell do you get off saying shit like that!" She pushed past Shikamaru and jabbed a finger into his chest. "You told me five fucking years ago that I was nothing to you and that you wanted nothing to do with me. So I tried to be your friend. All these years you've told me how you have no interest in relationships until you avenge your family and kill your brother." Letting out a scoffing laugh she continued to verbally attack Sasuke. "Then tonight surprise, surprise here you are out for dinner with Ino. Well you know what Sasuke? Fuck you." Spinning on her heel she met Shikamaru's eyes apologetically before turning her

equally remorseful face towards Ino and she continued in a slightly calmer voice. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Shika. Bye Ino." With her head held high Sakura marched out the door unaware that Sasuke was stalking after her.

She made it down the block and was just going by a dark alley when someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the inky blackness of the alley. Struggling Sakura realized her captor was much stronger and that with her alcohol hazed mind she couldn't think of any jutsus to use to escape her predicament. She relaxed slightly as she recognized the dark uncontrolled hair and fathomless eyes that could only belong to Sasuke. Then she tensed up and raised a open palm to meet his cheek and let out a near silent gasp as Sasuke caught hold of both her hands and held them behind her back. She blushed slightly realizing that the softness of her breasts was being crushed in to the solid muscle of his chest. Her blush became more pronounced as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You don't know as much as you think you do." Before she had a chance to process what these words may mean he raised her hands above her head and she was pressed against the wall by his body. She tried to wriggle out of his grasp but froze in shock as Sasuke ground his lips firmly into hers. Her eyes shot wide in surprise but then slowly slid shut as she allowed her feelings to overide her thinking. Moaning softly into the kiss she realised that he had released her hands to grip her hips closer to him and she took the opportunity to run her hands up his arms and over his shoulders to tangle her fingers in his dark hair. Realizing that she was not fighting him, he softened the kiss and pulled her closer. She arched her head back as he trailed damp kisses down her neck, and when he found a spot that caused her to let out a breathy little gasp he continued to lavish attention on it before returning his lips to her own. He ran one hand up and down her spine as the other trailed up her ribcage under her shirt. Suddenly, and without warning she shoved him hard away from her. Sasuke looked up with anger and passion blazing in his eyes. Some of the fire went out though when he saw the tears in her eyes. His eyes trained on her kiss-bruised lips when they opened to give him an explanation.

"I-I'm sorry Sasuke. I can't do this. I've worked for years to be the best friend to you I can and I value that friendship more than life itself. I can't just go and throw it away over a stupid thing like this." As she turned away and prepared to run away his words stopped her as surely as if he'd grabbed her by the shoulders.

"But, Sakura I need you."

Without turning to look at him she let out a catchy breath before feeling the tears stream down her cheeks. She was almost as surprised at her words as he was.

"Don't do this Sasuke. I need to know where I stand with you, I can't take you playing games with me. I just..." She gasped out a quiet little sob before continuing, "I just can't take you." With that said she did run. When she reached her home she went in and went straight to bed and cried herself to sleep.

End of Flashback

"How could I have just blurted that out!" Ignoring the pounding in her head she continued to lecture herself as she wiped the tears away and rinsed her face with cold water. Quickly running a brush through her berry coloured hair she put it up in a messy bun before turning and walking to the front door. She rose her chin a notch preparing for the battle that may be coming. Slowly opening her door, she knew that there was a lot of apolgizing that needed to be done today. She let out a soft humorless chuckle as she

realized that she wasn't the only one who needed to do some apologizing. Then once more bracing herself she opened the front door and stepped out into the bright, sunny day.

Below are the lyrics to the song that inspired this story. I was going to put the lines in at the specific parts in the story but I find this tends to distract from the story so I did it this way instead.

Lyrics to Promises by Lillix:

It's been another day

Thinking what could have been

It gets so hard

But it's not what it seems

What I want it to be

Did I try too hard?

And I hope for something much more

Just before this you'll have to

Promise we won't fall apart

Promise this right from the start

Promise on Heaven that you won't make believe

Promise me

I don't understand

What I did wrong

When the problem was you

What do I say when everything is over

Forget about you

And I hope for something much more

Just before this you'll have to

Promise we won't fall apart

Promise this right from the start

Promise on Heaven that you won't make believe

Promise me

What will tomorrow bring

I'm reciting the truth

It gets so hard

But it's just a day

When everything went wrong

Relying on you

Thinking why you lied

Searching, never find

Right now as I say

You'll have to

And I hope for something much more

Just before this you'll have to

Promise we won't fall apart

Promise this right from the start

Promise on Heaven that you won't make believe

Promise me

And I hope for something much more

Just before this you'll have to

Promise we won't fall apart

Promise this right from the start

Promise on Heaven that you won't make believe

Promise me

Promise me


	2. Friendship

Wow I am so sorry this has taken so long. I'm not even entirely happy with it. But hopefully it can tide you guys over until I get a chance to finish up chapter three. Please review and let me know what you're all thinking. I do thrive on reviews after all! Also a quick thanks goes out to my reviewers, sky, allyluv, Analogue Cat, Alexandra Trent, LightDreamer, benjem, Mint, and cuito. You're reviews are all much appreciated and I hope you'll forgive me for the wait and length of this. And so without further ado, I give you the new, but far too short chapter of Promises To Be Kept.

Chapter Two

Kittie-Nova

As Sakura made her way down her front steps she paused a moment to brush har pale locks out of her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing across her yard. Reaching her front gate she was surprised to see Ino coming down the street. The outspoken girl raised her hand in greeting before picking up her pace to meet up with Sakura. She looked pensively at her green eyed friend before speaking. Immediately Sakura realized that this wasn't your average ''I just dropped by to say hi" conversations. Finally, having decided how to phrase her words the blonde spoke up in a near timid voice.

"Sakura can I talk to you about last night?"

Sakura glanced down at her sandeled feet and stared at the shiny silver toe ring she had neglected to remove the night before and responded just as cautiously.

"I am truly sorry for the way I acted Ino. I was just surprised and a little pissed off with Sasuke. I really didn't mean to take it out on you." Pausing in her apology to glance up at the reaction her friend was having, she took a deep breath before continuing. "It's just that he's always told me that defeating his brother is the only priority in his life and seeing you out with him just made me remember how we almost ruined our own friendship with our stupid little rivalry over him, and..."

At this point Ino covered Sakura's mouth so she could input her own thoughts. "Sakura, nothing is worth ruining our friendship over, I have to be honest with you though. Sasuke only asked me out because he and I have a mission together coming up and we were working out some details in our strategy."

At this Sakura let out a noise that was a cross between a groan and a growl. "I can't believe I just jumped to a conclusion like that, I mean if I would have even thought it through a little I would have realized that you would never cheat on Kankuro."

At the comment a slight blush rose to the blonde kunoichi's cheeks at the mention of her boyfriend. She had surprised everyone by accepting a date with the unusual Sand shinobi, and Sakura knew that they had been dating for almost three months now. To the best of her knowledge the two were extremely happy with each other.

Wanting to be back on a level playing field Ino decided to find out what was going on between Sakura and Shikamaru. She let out a sly smirk before turning to Sakura to ask not so innocently.

"So Sakura, what was up with the steamy lip lock last night?"

Sakura's cheeks flamed to a colour matching her hair before realizing that Ino had meant the kiss with Shikamaru, as she had not seen the steamy embrace she had shared later that evening with Sasuke. Her colour only going down slightly she tried to defuse Ino's insatiable curiousity.

"Well we just um...well you see...um...everyone was busy last night so Shika and I decided that we'd go grab a bite together and just, well you know.." At this comment Ino teasingly interupted her.

"Hook up and have crazy, wild sex in the middle of a pub?"

Not completely paying attention to what had just been said Sakura responded without thinking.

"Exactly! No wait a minute! Ino!" Sakura shot her an angry look before correcting herself.

"No we just went out to keep each other company. You know as well as I do that Shika is one of my best friends, and nothing more."

Ignoring the skeptical look on Ino's face she glanced down the road in the direction of the Ichiraku, before starting to walk towards it. Not waiting for Ino she called back over her shoulder.

"Hey Ino-pig want to go for breakfast?" Chuckling because she could imagine without even having to look at Ino, the furious expression that was probably crossing Ino's face at that moment. Unknown to her was that at the teasingly said childhood insult Ino's face actually relaxed into a smile, knowing for certain now that her best friend was no longer angry with her. Not bothering to reply she set off to catch up to the pink-haired girl. Neither girl noticed the dark, hungry stare that followed Sakura's figure as they walked down the road.


	3. Companionship

Promises To Be Kept

Chapter 3

Enjoy the next chapter!

---Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters depicted in the following story...They belong to the talented Masahi Kishimoto---

Sakura was glaring up at the wood panelled ceiling above her as she ground out a response to Ino's last probing question.

"But Ino, you have to understand, it really looked like you were on a date!" Sakura was once again rehashing last nights episode with Ino while they sat at a booth in the back of the cafe they'd decided to have coffee. They had been in the cafe for over an hour and in that time they'd talked about anything they could think of except last night's proceedings. Sakura had just let down her guard when Ino started teasing her about interupting the mission briefing.

"Well you know Sakura I suppose I should be happy you didn't dump water down my shirt or..."

"Or kick your ass like only I can?" Sakura interupted teasingly.

Ino made a face recalling the last time she and Sakura had sparred, it gave new meaning to the phrase having your ass handed to you on a silver platter. She continued to watch Sakura without comment as she blew lightly into her cup of coffee to cool it. Sakura glanced up at Ino realizing she had yet to respond.

"What?" She asked tilting her head to the side.

Ino chuckled, "Shikamaru hmm? I never thought you'd go for him. I totally should have set you guys up back when I was trying to get Sasuke to notice me." At that comment Sakura's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Ino! You jerk! I can't believe you just said that! I told you Shika and I are just friends. We had that three month long mission out in the Wind country last year and with only Shino as company we got to know each other." This time it was Ino's jaw that dropped in surprise. She unconciously raised her index finger towards Sakura as she shrieked out the first thing that came to her mind.

"Did you sleep with him on that mission!"

Sakura stared at Ino in open mouthed silence before turning a violent shade of red and smacking Ino's pointed finger down to the table.

"Okay first of all Ino, that's none of your business, and second of all why would you yell that out in the middle of a cafe, you moron!" Sakura was so embarassed by this point she had sunk down as low as she could go in her seat without sitting on the floor.

"You did sleep with him! I thought you looked a little too comfortable when you were making out with him last night!"

At this point Sakura slapped herpalm on her forehead before grating out a reply from between her clenched teeth.

"We did not have sex Ino, we made out a few times during the mission and yes I did share a bed with him but that was only because it was either him or Shino and the bug thing..." At this Sakura paused as she let out a little shiver at the thought of waking up with bugs crawling on her."And I knew Shikamaru better than Shino too, so there." Sakura stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms in a huff. At the childish display before her Ino could not contain her laughter any longer and burst out in uncontrolled giggles.

"Seriously though Ino, Shikamaru and I are friends, and I thought Sasuke and I were too..." At that comment a shadow passed over Sakura's face and she glanced down at the table recalling the previous night's misadventure. Ino's giggling had stopped at Sakura's quiet tone, sensing that she was truly upset about something not just being embarassed about being caught making out with one of her friends. With a concerned look on her face Ino reached her hand out to place it on Sakura's arm.

"What happened last night after you took off..." As the words came out of Ino's mouth her eyes widened as Sakura raised her face and allowed Ino to glimpse her eyes that were glassy with unshed tears. She mumbled something, causing Ino to barely catch what she was saying, unsure as to whether or not she had heard correctly she squeezed Sakura's arm.

"A little louder Sakura?"

"I said that Sasuke caught up to me and we had a fight." One of Ino's eyebrows arched up in surprise at that before her eyes narrowed as she zeroed in on the true cause of her friend's distress.

"What kind of a fight? Like an "I hate you and don't want to see you ever again" kind of fight or an "angry sex against a wall" kind of fight? Sakura's eyes widened in surprise at Ino's words as they hit a little too close to home.

"Kind of a "combination of those two options" kind of fight." Sakura replied quietly.

"Oh. Well it couldn't have been that bad, could it?" Ino replied with an unsure expression on her face.

Sakura didn't bother to respond to the question, she just nodded her head mutely to indicate that it was that bad. Ino let out a sympathetic sigh when suddenly there was a commotion from the front of the restaurant. Their conversation interupted both girls turned to see who was causing the disturbance. At the sight of a familiar blond and an angry waiter Sakura sunk down once more in hopes that she wouldn't be noticed. Unfortunately her luck from the night before was carrying over to today.

"Sakura!" Naruto's joyful yell could be heard throughout the cafe.

Sakura angrily groused in her head, 'Nevermind the cafe, probably the whole village.' Forcing a smile to her face she glanced up at the happy man in front of her. Forcing a note of cheer into her voice she greeted him with a friendly "Hi Naruto. What'd you break this time?"

Naruto let out a small pout which rapidly changed to a smirk as he spoke,"Well it's not my fault the waiter wasn't watching where he was going and then he proceeded to walk into me and drop all those plates."

Ino, who up until this point had gone unnoticed rolled her eyes before smacking Naruto on the arm.

"Naruto you idiot, that stack was higher than his face, how was he supposed to see you?" Ino's yelling was almost louder than Naruto's and she had a furious expression on her face once he answered her question.

"He should have balanced them around his face so he wouldn't go tripping innocent people like me." Naruto was right in Ino's face yelling back at her. Both stopped shouting however when they heard the noise coming from the other side of the table.

At Ino's comment Sakura had started to giggle which then turned into a full laugh at Naruto's response. Noticing that both of them were now glaring at her she tried to calm the situation between her two hot-headed friends down by asking Naruto about his new girlfriend of a week. "So Naruto, where's Hinata at this morning?"

Naruto's tanned face barely revealed the slight blush that had come up at the question.

"She's uh, still at home. I'm meeting her for lunch here in about half an hour."

It had taken years of effort on their friends behalf in order to get the couple together and now both Naruto and Hinata seemed to be in a constant state of bliss. Ino realized that Sakura would not be willing to discuss anything more while Naruto was there resigned herself to listening to their teasing banter and decided to wait for Hinata to get there so that she could get more information about the night before. Sakura however, realized that this was her chance to get Ino off of her back so that she could get going and apologize to Shikamaru for the display last night and then if she was still feeling brave she was going to continue on the the Uchiha estate to finish her argument with Sasuke. With the plan fully formed in her head Sakura made a show of glancing at her watch before making a theatrical gasp. Naruto paused in his talking and looked down at Sakura inquiringly, while Ino was pulled out of her contemplations over what had actually occured the night before. Sakura hurried to get out her words before she could be interupted or distracted.

"I'm sorry you two! I completely forgot that I promised Tsunade that I would meet her at the hospital at noon, if I run I might just make it. Oh but I feel so rude just leaving you here alone Ino!" Without waiting for a response Sakura turned to Naruto and smiled hopefully up at him before continuing. "Naruto you'll keep Ino company while she finishes her coffee and until Hinata gets here right?" Naruto glanced at Ino whose face held a mix of shock and anger replied uncertaintly to Sakura's question.

"Um, sure Sakura..." The words were barely out of his mouth before Sakura gave him a quick hug, turned and gave Ino one too and then threw some change on the table to cover her drinks and ran out the door before either blonde could get another word in. What had been the loudest booth in the restaurant had suddenly become the quietest as Ino and Naruto looked at each other in shocked silence.

Meanwhile Sakura had slowed to a walk a few blocks from the cafe and began rehearsing to herself what she was going to say to Shikamaru so she wouldn't offend or hurt him. She was so deep in thought she barely realized that she was already in front of Shikamaru's apartment. Inhaling deeply she gave herself one last mental pep talk before going to the door.

'C'mon Sakura, you can do this. Just be calm and don't let him figure out what's really bothering you.' Exhaling as she raised her fist to the door she put on a small, friendly smile and knocked. She waited a few moments, but heard no response or movement from inside, so she knocked once more this time calling out a questioning, "Shikamaru?"

All of a sudden the door next to Shikamaru's opened and a frail looking, white haired woman in her dressing robe peered out.

"Are you looking for Mr. Nara young lady?" The old woman asked kindly

Sakura turned her full attention to the neighbor and nodded.

"I'm sorry dear you missed him by a couple of hours. I heard him leaving and I was a little surprised that he was up so early, so when I asked him where he was going he just said out. He seemed rather upset about something. Are you his little girlfriend? Did you two have a fight, because if you did you should really make up. He's a nice boy, but he needs a woman to look after him."

As the woman's rambling began Sakura's mouth dropped as it continued she became more and more flushed. Suddenly a small white cat darted past the lady's feet, thanking whatever god had answered her prayer for a distraction she reached down and caught the cat as it went to run past. As she handed the lady her pet she made her excuses to leave.

"Here you go ma'am, I'm going to go and see if Shikamaru went to my house to find me, if he comes home could you be sure to let him know I was looking for him?"

The old lady had a sparkle in her eye as she was sure she had just saved their relationship before smiling and nodding. Without waiting for the neighbor to close her door Sakura turned and began walking towards Sasuke's.

'No sense in putting this off any longer, I'll stop by and talk to Shikamaru on my way home.'

To Be Continued...

---I have to apologize for the terribly long wait for this chapter. I'm finishing up exams this month and then I'll be finishing this story. I may still get the next chapter out by Sunday but it'll more likely be out at the beginning of May (my birthday's on the first so look for it the week after) If I do get the next chapter up this weekend it will be the last chapter coming up at the beginning of May. My other stories will all be updated after I'm done this story. Once the three I have on the go are done, I will be starting a few new ones hopefully to be finished by the end of summer. Once again thanks for staying with me and I hope you all enjoy the story! By the way although I don't plan to do it, if there are any author's out there who would like to do a side fic for Naruto & Hinata or Ino & Kankuro (My two background couples) I'd love to read them, so if you write them email me the link, or even just the story if you don't want to post it and I would be more than happy to read them!----

Next chapter will be told mostly if not completely by Shikamaru's and Sasuke's point of view.


End file.
